A BRITISH soldier died in Afghanistan after being hit by fire from US Apache ­helicopters which identified his base as an ­enemy position, a ­coroner said ­yesterday.

Lance Corporal Christopher Roney, 23, of 3rd Battalion The ­Rifles, died of head injuries at Patrol Base Almas in Sangin, Helmand, in December 2009.

A drone and two US Apaches were called in after the attack began.

Patrol Base Almas was a mud-walled compound bought from a local owner just weeks before and was not on official maps. British troops, who by then had almost won the battle, were incorrectly identified as enemy forces and attacked with 30mm chain guns.

L/Cpl Roney, a married former drayman from Sunderland, was among 11 men injured. He died a day later.

The tragedy happened despite a flagpole, defensive works and soldiers dressed unlike the enemy at the base, Sunderland Coroner Derek Winter said in a summary of evidence to be heard. Statements from the US pilots are yet to be read, but Mr Winter said they were not told of and did not ask for the ­location of the base. With “total disorientation” in place, he said, the Apaches were told to ­engage.